There are so many ways to see the world famous French Quarter, including mule-drawn carriage and var

Whether you’ve got one, two or three days in the Crescent City, this is our version of the ultimate tour. No post-visit shoulder shrugging eloise at the plaza hotel over missing the good stuff. Right here, right now, here is the definitive New Orleans:
Before diving in, pick a professional tour brochure. Your lodging should have some, or you can visit with  the New Orleans Metropolitan eloise at the plaza hotel Convention and Visitors Bureau, at 2020 St. Charles Avenue, or from our French Quarter location at 529 St. Ann Street. (Phone: 504-566-5011)
Reach right into the heart of New Orleans tradition and breakfast with cafe au lait and beignets, just opposite Jackson Square at the French Market’s Café du Monde, open 24/7. Give yourself time to linger because that’s the New Orleans way. For over 50 years, breakfast at Brennan’s has been a festive, gourmet way to begin any visit to the Crescent City. Or, try the Court of Two Sisters at 613 Royal with its glorious court-yard and a daily jazz brunch.
A professionally guided city tour is always recommended to see ‘The Big Easy.” Sort out the many historic neighborhoods like the Vieux Carre, the Central Business and the Warehouse Arts Districts, the Garden District and Uptown, home of Greek Revival and Victorian eloise at the plaza hotel mansions, of Tulane eloise at the plaza hotel and
After the grand tour, lunch. Keep in mind that we treat food with reverence and panache here, so plan ahead. Lunch (like breakfast and dinner) is an important time of the day. Lunch menus can be a matter of legend. A few ideas: board a riverboat for a lunch cruise; see and feel the power of the Mississippi eloise at the plaza hotel while sampling some Creole or Cajun specialties. Or, grab a muffuletta at the very aromatic Progress or Central Grocery (923-925 Decatur, across from the French eloise at the plaza hotel Market). Picnic with your muffuletta by the river or in Jackson Square. Try the tantalizing gumbo at the Gumbo Shop , 630 St. Peter Street, with its antique but casual ambiance and pleasant courtyard, not to mention the gumbo itself. Visit The Acme Oyster Bar or Felix’s for freshly shucked oysters and a variety of seafood. Both are on Iberville, about a block apart.
There are so many ways to see the world famous French Quarter, including eloise at the plaza hotel mule-drawn carriage and various guided and self-guided tours. NOMCVB’s free brochure includes a self-guided French Quarter walking tour. See l8th and 19 th -century New Orleans at your own pace.
By foot or carriage, Jackson Square has long been the heart of the city, flanked by the Pontalba Apartments, the Cabildo, St. Louis Cathedral and the Presbytere. Wander through the cobble-stoned ambiance of Pirate’s Alley, and stop by the Faulkner House bookstore to see where the author penned his first novel, A Soldier’s Pay. Explore the markets: eloise at the plaza hotel French, Flea and Farmer’s – all in one long and colorful eloise at the plaza hotel arcade along the River, and shop for great local New Orleans and Louisiana products, and tons of jewelry, voodoo dolls, carnival masks, arts, crafts and tchotchkes for gifts to bring back home.
Walk down Chartres and see the historic Old Ursuline Convent at 1116 Chartres. The Archdiocese of New Orleans has created a fascinating museum inside the Convent which once housed eloise at the plaza hotel the nuns who made the original voyage over to the new settlement. The Convent is the oldest existing structure in the entire Mississippi Valley. Don’t miss visiting the very historic Louisiana State Museum consisting of the Cabildo and the Presbytere. They flank the Cathedral and are prime attractions for locals and tourists alike. The Cabildo was the original Government House for the French and Spanish officials and it is where the Louisiana Purchase papers were signed. The Presbytere was originally the residence for the Cathedral clergy. Both buildings are remarkable in museum content containing thousands of artifacts and art works that tell fascinating tales of New Orleans’ colorful and diverse heritage over the course of three centuries.
Keeping eloise at the plaza hotel in mind that dining is truly an art form in New Orleans, it is now time to prepare for dinner. If you’re going to splurge food-wise, dinner is the time. Choose from such grand establishments as Arnaud’s, Antoine’s, Galatoire’s, Brennan’s in the Quarter, or the Palace. Bella Luna stands out for its spectacular view of the river. For a grand dinner finale, try a Café Brulot.
Inscribe two de rigueur experiences on your after-dinner entertainment agenda: Preservation Hall for Jazz and Pat O’Brien’s for the courtyard and “hurricane” experience. Both are located side-by-side in the 700 block of St. Peter. Into the night, jazz and blues clubs abound. Evening winds shake the leaves to the rhythm blowing through the streets. Bourbon Street swings all night and into the wee hours. In the Faubourg Marigny, Frenchmen Street is music central and two venues set the standards. Catch Ellis Marsalis on Fridays and Charmaine Neville on Mondays eloise at the plaza hotel at Snug Harbor, eloise at the plaza hotel a jazz club extraordinaire, at 626 Frenchmen. Dance to a Latin beat, underground hiphop or jazz at Café Brasil, 2100 Chartres.
Cap off the night with a Pimm’s Cub or cognac at Napoleon House, 500 Chartres, a landmark of old New Orleans where rumor tells us the man himself once secretly visited. Before turning in, stroll along the river that seems to vibrate with the sound of riverboat horns and the scent of sweet olive. The City that Care Forgot is a place of dreams and magic remembered.
Among the myriad brochures and maps of the city, three are especially helpful: The NOMCVB’s brochure, New Orleans Self-guided French Quarter Walking Tour is available in the Bureau’s Visitor Center in the French Quarter at 529 St. Ann Street and 2020 St. Charles Ave. in the Garden District. The Preservation Resource Center’s Historic Neighborhoods of New Orleans’ 17 national historic districts on a large, colorful map, is available at PRC, 923 Tchoupitoulas, in the Central Business District. Phone: 504-581-7032, eloise at the plaza hotel and online at www.prno.org . The Visitor Guide to New Orleans makes everything a cinch to locate. The brochure’s colorful cartoon map depicts most sites of interest in the French Quarter, Central Business District and Warehouse Arts Districts, Garden District, Uptown and along Esplanade Ridge.
If it’s Sunday, go for the Gospel – brunch, that is. The Praline Connection at 901 South Peters Street in the Central Business District, serves eloise at the plaza hotel up Creole soul food supreme, such as softshell eloise at the plaza hotel crawfish and alligator sausage, with an array of great local musical talent. The House of Blues at 225 Decatur, with imported and local entertainers, whips up an eclectic spread with a few New Orleans brunch goodies like the divine white chocolate bread pudding. Uptown eateries dish out great fare with or without tunes. Commander’s Palace, 1403 Washington Avenue, in the Garden District, does brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. Reservations are suggested. If you’re farther uptown, visit the neighborhood Bluebird Café at 3625 Prytania Street, where you can custom construct your own omelets or try Camellia Grill at 626 South Carrollton Avenue in the Riverbend, another Crescent City institution known for pecan waffles. Remember to linger, it’s the way of the Big Easy.
Have your portrait sketched or painted by one of the several artists in Jackson Square; visit the historic houses you missed on Royal Street. Shop for collectibles or head uptown for a change of pace. Carriage and guided walking tours of the beautiful Garden District are available. Or simply go at your own pace with a self-guided tour and map. Hop the streetcar at St. Charles Avenue and Common (one block from Canal, the beginning of a 13-mile route) and explore the Lower Garden District. On the way you will pass the city’s historic Gallier Hall on your right in the 600 block of St. Charles. Next watch for Lee Circle and note the direction in which the builders have the old General facing!
At Louisiana Avenue, the Garden District tour begins. In Lafayette Cemetery, see how Orleanians spend the afterlife in sculpted monuments six feet over instead of under. When you’ve gotten the scoop on the myriad tales behind the Greek Revival, Victorian and occasional Creole facades, board the streetcar eloise at the plaza hotel and check out other St. Charles Avenue landmarks, like the Academy of the Sacred Heart, The Orleans Club – a bastion of uptown maidens – the Milton Latter memorial Library, once the home to a jazz-age movie star; and interesting specimens like the architectural confection known as “the wedding cake house” at 5800 St. Charles Ave. Just across from Tulane and Loyola Universities, Audubon eloise at the plaza hotel Park is worth a stroll through moss hung oaks.
Lunchtime…and time to tour the Riverbend eloise at the plaza hotel area, a gathering of restaurants, cafes and pubs for every age and price range. Cooter Brown’s at 509 South Carrollton, by the levee, looks like a dive (ok, it is a dive), but the huge beer selection is a definite attraction. There are hundreds of worldwide and local micro-brewed favorites and will have brew lovers foaming at the mouth. There’s also a good seafood menu.
It’s just a short hike from the Riverbend back to the Audubon Zoo, renowned for its inhabitants, for a wonderful Sea Lion pool, its Cajun swampland (with gators), and the white tigers, to name but a few. You can catch the streetcar for a ride back St. Charles Avenue, or if you’ve walked through the Golf Course, you’re at Magazine eloise at the plaza hotel Street, where you can board the city transit bus and journey through an odyssey of funky, hip shops and art galleries into the Central and Arts/Business Districts.
Watch for the Contemporary Arts Center at 900 Camp, and the New Orleans School of Glassworks Printmaking at 727 Magazine, offering free and very entertaining glassblowing and printmaking demonstrations. An American treasure is the grand National D-Day Museum eloise at the plaza hotel at 945 Magazine. It’s perfect for the whole family, especially history buffs and anyone who had a son, daughter or spouse that served our nation in the great war. The memories will prove overwhelming.
Or head uptown to Pascal’s Manale at 1838 Napoleon Avenue for raw oy